Witches of Maister
by Spicy Tuna Fish Chopper
Summary: Takes place before Uther dies and before Morgana goes evil. Two witches arrive in Camelot in disguise but only one knows of her powers. When one sister goes dark, plotting to destroy Camelot, Merlin must work together with Arthur, the knights of Camelot, and the young unknown witch in order to save Albion, but at what price?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show Merlin but I do own the characters Evangeline and Alva. Please read and review. This came from story ideas I was tossing around… Enjoy!**

They rode into the city of Camelot at dawn, as the markets and shops began to open, early risers drifting into the streets. The two riders paused at the castle gates, exchanging weary glances with one another.

"Who are you?" a guard asked. They dismounted, revealing letter of nobility. The guard nodded and waved them in. They led their horses

into the courtyard, looking around. Maids and servants chatted loudly as they moved about and a tall young man stood near a short old

man with white hair stood apart from them, laughing. The two figures approached them slowly. The old man, Gaius, the court physician

looked over his apprentice warily, frowning.

"May we help you?" he asked. They bowed, pulling the heavy cloaks off their faces, revealing their faces. Gaius beamed, stretching out to grab their hands.

"Gaius?

"Oh, Merlin! These are my pupils, Evangeline and Alva. Some of the most talented…girls…I have ever met," he said. Merlin grinned,

shaking their hands. Evangeline was a beautiful girl, with rippling brown hair that reach her hips, high cheek bones framing her chocolate

brown eyes as they bore down on Merlin. He smiled sheepishly, keeping a noticeably longer grip on her hand than that of her sister's. Her

older sister, Alva, had the same brown hair but her face was squarer with green-brown eyes. Her hair was shorter and smoother but still

lovely. But it was the younger sister that caught Merlin's eye.

"Gaius, we are looking for work," Alva said.

"I'm sorry, my dears, but nothing much will be found here in Camelot," he replied.

"Are you sure? You do not need assistants?" Alva insisted. Gaius sighed and turned as Prince Arthur came running from within the palace.

"Merlin! I've been looking everywhere for you! My boots need polishing, my armor too. Also, my blades need to be sharpened!" he snapped. Alva cleared her throat, crossing her arms defiantly as the king barely noticed them. He stopped yelling at his manservant before looking at the two women.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Lady Evangeline and Lady Alva, My Lord," Evangeline said, curtsying deeply. He nodded.

"Do either of you happen to be a cook?" he joked. Alva and Evangeline exchanged glances and Evangeline nodded. Arthur looked startled.

"Really?"

"Yes. I cooked for various lords and kings around Albion," she explained. He grinned, patting Evangeline on the shoulder.

"Excellent," he said cheerfully and walked away. "Oh, Gaius, all the cooks have fallen ill!" Gaius rolled his eyes and rushed off to the kitchens, leaving Merlin alone with the two young women.

"Do you mind if we stay with you? Gaius is such a dear old friend and we really have nowhere else to go," Alva insisted. He shrugged and nodded, gesturing for them to follow. Evangeline grinned, grabbing her horse's reins and followed the tall, lanky young man as he headed towards the castle.

"You can leave your horses here," he said, gesturing to a pole near the wall. After tying their beasts and followed Merlin in as he climbed

stairs and walked through twisting halls before reaching a sign reading _Court Physician_. He opened a heavily worn door into a large room,

shelves filled with plants, bottles, and chemical equipment. Alva gasped in delight, spotting the countless piles of books thrown throughout

the living space.

"Sorry for the mess. But we have a spare room over there," he explained, gesturing to a tiny room, its rotting door open. Alva nodded and began settling them in while Merlin led Evangeline away to the kitchens.

* * *

As soon as the boy left, Alva dove into her bag, pulling out a necklace. It was a small silver necklace, with a dragon pendant looping around itself to create three rings, ending with the dragon eating its own tail. She grinned, attaching it around her neck. It glowed violently, shedding blue light on her surroundings.

* * *

"How was your journey to Camelot?" Merlin asked as he walked with Evangeline to the kitchens.

"Fine. Nothing exciting."

"Good. There are sometimes bandits in the woods."

"Really?" she laughed. "I'm surprised anyone comes to Camelot anymore then, if there are bandits in the woods." He laughed nervously as well, knowing well enough the majority of the times he and Arthur had been attacked, it had not been truly the work of bandits.

"Here we are." Evangeline was surprised at the silence in the kitchens. Normally, they were alive and always moving in a castle, such as this. She walked in and beamed, delighted with the size of the kitchen.

"It's beautiful!" she squealed, rushing around to brush her fingers across the surfaces of each oven and pot.

Merlin wrinkled his nose. "Really?" She glared at him, swatting his arm. He laughed, dancing out of her reach. She turned away and started pulling ingredients off shelves and started cooking. Before Merlin could protest, he smelled the most delicious thing he ever imagined.

"What are you cooking?" he gasped, moving closer. Evangeline smiled, gesturing to the large cooking pot that was beginning to simmer on the open stove.

"You hungry? This'll be done in a few minutes."

"I would love too," he hesitated, remembering all the chores Arthur had given him to do.

"Arthur needs you?" she suggested. He nodded and reluctantly walked out of the kitchen, returning to Arthur's chambers. The prince's giant pile of armor and countless pairs of boots were waiting for him on the chambers, along with a rag and a small brush. He sighed and sat down to began cleaning.

"Oh, there you are," Arthur said, coming in. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Where else would I have been? I love my job," he joked. Arthur rolled his eyes and sat heavily on a chair, dumping his weapons on the ground, along with dirt and grass. Merlin sighed, having cleaned the floors the day before.

"Did you get to talk with those two girls earlier?" the prince asked. Merlin nodded, changing to a new pair of boots.

"What did you think? The younger one was pretty, as was the older one but something about her gave me the creeps," he shuddered. "Her gaze was so…intense."

"She was alright to me."

"Yeah, because you were too busy drooling over her sister," he snorted.

"I was not!" Merlin argued, blushing slightly. Arthur rolled his eyes and rose, grabbing his sword and strode out again, clanking loudly. Merlin grinned and continued to clean.

Evangeline left the pots in the kitchen simmer, knowing they would not boil over before she returned. She walked back to her room, taking a few wrong turns before finding Gaius' chambers once again.

* * *

"Alva? Are you here?" she called softly. She glanced around but her older sister was nowhere to be seen. She pushed into their room and

shrieked. Her sister lay in a daze, pale and mumbling chants of the Old Religion beneath her breath as the necklace around her neck

glowed and rose, hovering above her body. She smacked down the pendant, destroying the enchantment. Alva groaned, pressing the heel

of her hand into her forehead before rising.

"What happened?"

"You were doing magic again!" she snapped. Alva smiled softly.

"What happened?"

"Well you were in a—What does that matter! Alva, you know how dangerous that is here in Camelot? You swore not to use magic while we were here!" she hissed angrily. Alva waved off her sister's concern and walked out of the room, stretching her arms above her head. Evangeline sighed in defeat, watching her sister wander out, praying she would not do something stupid.

**Note: Ta da! Please R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin except for the characters Alva and Evangeline. Thanks for reading and please enjoy!**

Evangeline took over kitchen duties full time as the cooks remained plagued by a mysterious fever. Alva spent her days organizing Gaius' rooms and memorizing spells from books she found in Merlin's room. Merlin was in Arthur's room when he heard an explosion from below. He dropped the plate of armor and sprinted down to Gaius' room, the source of the loud explosion. Arthur and various knights were already inside, waving away thick white smoke.

"What the hell happened?" Arthur coughed. Merlin shrugged and pushed inside. Alva lay unconscious against the wall across from Gaius' workbench, the pendant resting on her skin glowing brightly. He bit his lip and placed a hand on the metal, chanting quickly before letting the knights come in. Arthur drew his sword, walking around quickly before gesturing for his knights to open the windows.

"What happened? Is she okay?" he asked, kneeling next to the fallen girl. She breathed deeply and she eyes fluttered open. Merlin sighed with relief, helping her climb to her feet.

"What happened?" Arthur asked again.

"I don't know," she replied. "I was simply organizing books and I accidentally knocked a liquid into one of Gaius' powders and there was a bright explosion." Arthur rolled his eyes and shouted for his men to find Gaius.

"Girls shouldn't play for chemicals," he muttered under his breath and turned away. Alva glared at him, her eyes glowing golden for a second and the Prince's trousers were suddenly around his ankles. He yelped, yanking them up once more. Merlin snickered but shot a scolding look at Alva. She shrugged and shut herself in her room.

"Merlin, get me a new belt. I think this one's broken," he instructed and marched out quickly. Merlin laughed and started cleaning the mess. He doubted Alva had caused the explosion by accident. Nothing Gaius' stores could cause an explosion of that power by simply being mixed together. The girl had been using magic and she was going to get herself killed. As he swept the floor, Evangeline burst into the room, her brown hair wild around her pale face.

"Where's Alva? Is she okay?" she shouted. Merlin nodded, gesturing to their little room. The young woman sprinted to in, shouting angrily as soon as she saw her sister. Gaius soon arrived as well, coughing at the smoke.

"Merlin! What did you do?" he cried, rushing to his charred workbench.

"It wasn't me!" he protested. "Alva was the only one in here!" Gaius sighed and stared brushing burned ingredients off the table when he paused, picking up a small, oblong object. It was thin and light, with the end bulging out like joints.

"This is a bone," he muttered. Merlin frowned, going to his master's side.

"A bone? I don't know any spells or enchantments that need bones," he whispered.

"And a good thing too! Bones, especially human bones, are only used for dark magic," he explained. Evangeline suddenly appeared again, running her hands through her hair.

"Sorry about that!" she said hurriedly and rushed out. Merlin turned back to the black bone in Gaius' hand.

"Alva was practicing dark magic?"

"I fear the worst kind," he murmured and pocketed the bone, walking out slowly. Merlin snuck to the door, glancing in. Alva rested against the back wall, her hair hanging over her eyes. He sighed when her head shot up, glaring at him through the door crack. He stumbled back, running out of the room.

* * *

Guinevere carried Lady Morgana's washing in her arms as she returned to the lady's chambers, whistling softly. A soft clank caught her attention and the young woman stopped in the hallway, glancing sharply over her shoulder.

"Who's there?" she called. There was no reply and Gwen continued walking, in silence this time. There came a soft clank again. She stopped again, nearly dropping the basket.

"Arthur if it's you, this isn't funny!" she cried softly. The clanking grew louder and louder until it seemed as though someone was going to come around the corner. Her eyes widened as a knight in full armor walked into the hall, his eyes totally white and his skin a deathly grey. Guinevere screamed, dropping the basket and fled around the corner into Morgana's rooms, panting. Morgana shot up from her seat, rushing to her maid's side.

"Gwen, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to still her shaking maid. Gwen's skin with pale with fright and it looked as though tears were about to spill over.

"I saw a-a-a…"

"A what?" Morgana snapped. Gwen took a deep breath and looked deep into her lady's eyes.

"A ghost."

* * *

Uther sat heavily on his throne, resting his chin on his fist, staring at trembling Guinevere. The young maid could barely stand, seated in a chair in the middle of their receiving hall.

"Are you sure about that you saw?" he asked once more. She nodded.

"It was a knight of Camelot. Not a man I knew by name, but I'd seen him before and I remember he died almost a year ago during a bandit attack," she explained. The king sighed, looking over at his trusted physician.

"Gaius, what do you think?"

"Sire, I'm afraid the only explanation is magic. Dark magic," he replied gravely. Merlin stiffened by his side, remembering the human bones they'd found after the explosion. Uther sighed, looking at his son and then his ward.

"So it seems there is a sorcerer here in Camelot, then," he announced to the court. They broke into frightened mutters and whispers. Gaius glanced over his shoulder at Merlin, who returned a frightened glance. Uther rose from his throne and looked around the room heavily before addressing the court.

"I will take action against this sorcerer immediately. If anyone else has an experience like that of Guinevere's, come to myself or Prince Arthur immediately so we can investigate," he said an strode out quickly. Merlin walked away just as quickly, making a beeline for Gaius' chambers, followed closely by Arthur.

"Merlin, do you have any idea what might've happened?" he asked, grabbing the doorknob before Merlin could. As they pushed inside, Merlin cried out as Arthur walked in. Alva stood in the middle of the rooms, her hair flying wildly around her head. The necklace around her floated off her chest, glowing brightly than everything else in the room. Arthur exchanged a confused look with Merlin before approached Alva, only to be blown back to the wall. Merlin approached as well, but he went for the boiling pot next to Alva, instead of the girl. A force began to press against him, but Merlin fought it until he reached the cauldron and managed to knock it over. Alva's eyes shot open and she screamed. The room nearly blew open, knocking Merlin against a bookshelf and he blacked out.

* * *

Merlin felt a slap across his face and his eyes opened, looking up at Prince Arthur. He scowled and lifted him to his feet.

"What the hell happened?" he asked. Merlin shrugged, rubbing the lump that was starting to grow on the back on his head.

"She got away?"

"I can _see_ that!" Arthur snarled and ran out. The palace was in panic when they got out into the courtyard. On the highest tower above the castle stood Alva, laughing. Below her, in the window ledge was Evangeline, shouting at her. King uther stood near the main staircase, his eyes wild with fright.

"Who is that?"

"Dunno!" Merlin said quickly. The King frowned and looked up at the girl again. She shouted something and a fire bloomed in a bale of hay. People started screaming and running around. King uther spotted Gaius on the other side of the yard and rushed to him, pushing people out of his way.

"We need to get her off the roof!" he snarled.

"What do you suggest I do?" he asked. King Uther looked down at his physician with meaning and then sprinted away to pull sobbing child away from a flaming bale. Merlin heard the King's words and chanted quick spell under his breath. Alva's chanting stopped and she cried out, falling from the tower. He chanted again and a large wagon full of hay broke her fall. Evangeline shrieked from the tower window, dropping her head into her hands before disappearing into the tower. Merlin sprinted to the cart as Alva began to stand. His eyes glowed and she was knocked down again, this time unconscious.

**Note: Enjoy! R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin the show or any of the characters except Alva and Evangeline! Please enjoy chapter 3 :D**

Alva knelt in the throne room, head held high with two knights flanking her, as Uther stood at his throne, regarding her carefully.

"So, you are a witch?"

"Yes."

"You admit it?"

"Proudly. Only a fool would be shamed at having such power and only an imbecile would try to kill us off!" she growled.

"Show respect for your King!" Arthur shouted from beside his father.

Alva laughed menacingly. "King? I see no king! I only see a scared child who wears the mask of a king. A murderer who slaughtered my family in front of my eyes when I was only a three! My sister doesn't even know her own mother or father because this bastard you call king murdered them." Uther paled notably and backed towards his chair.

"Your sister…she too is a witch?" he asked slowly.

"No…" Alva growled. "She was always the weak one of the family." Merlin breathed a sigh of relief from the crowd gathered in the room for the hearing, exchanging a quick look with Gaius. Evangeline stood in the back of the throne room, hands twisting an apron violently while her face was a mask of death. Alva had always been reckless and crazy about getting revenge for their parents' deaths but she'd assumed it was just talk. Now, Alva's foolish actions were going to cost her life and Evangeline the only family she had left.

"I've seen enough. You are sentenced to death as by our laws for practicing magic of the Old Religion," Uther stated clearly. Alva smiled, a low laugh rumbling in her throat until it built up. Merlin watched her eyes flash with magic and the entire castle started rumbling. The knights shouted, drawing their weapons while Morgana and Gwen screamed with fear, clinging to one another. Evangeline grasped a tall column near her, watching her sister laugh louder and louder. The guards holding her arms flew away from her and the shaking stopped. The dirt and dust fallen from the ceiling caked them all as Alva walked forward slowly, the dragon pendant around her neck glowing violently.

"You, Uther Pendragon," her voice boomed with power and her eyes glowed permanently, "Have caused terror, death, and evil to breed under your rule. Your time as king is over." With a final explosion, she was gone, leaving a scorch mark on the throne room floor at Uther's feet. He jumped back, staring at his knights before roaring, "Find her!" Evangeline hid behind the pillar as the throne room emptied quickly when she felt a hand land on her shoulder. She jumped, spinning around to face Merlin. He smiled sadly down at her. He grasped her hand and pulled her away, leaving Gaius to calm the king and returned to their rooms.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking over her quickly before being satisfied at the lovely girl was unharmed.

"Yes. What about Alva—"

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do for your sister," he replied. She whimpered, collapsing on a bench, hiding her face in her hands.

"She always talked about this but I never thought she'd go through with it," she whispered ominously. Merlin crouched in front of her, pulling her hands into his. Her heart fluttered softly as she looked into his gray-blue eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"Alva. She has a plan. And I think she's putting it in motion now."

"What plan? Evangeline, what is Alva going to do?" She shook her head with disbelief, no longer looking at Merlin, staring over his shoulder at Arthur who'd barely entered, his face grim and drawn. She cringed with fear, darting away from Merlin, hiding behind one of Gaius' tables. Arthur approached quickly, hand lying on the hilt of his sword.

"Arthur, don't!" Merlin shouted, reaching his hand out to stop the prince. Arthur stopped short of the frightened young women and smiled faintly.

"I'm not here to harm her," he replied to no one in particular. She smiled in return, slowly sliding to the floor.

"You were saying that your sister had a plan. What plan?" he asked softly, crouching down in front of her.

"She plans to—" Pounding on the door frightened Evangeline, clamping her mouth shut tightly. King Uther's voice called through the door. Arthur exchanged a concerned look with Merlin and pulled Evangeline away. Merlin opened the door to his room, hiding Evangeline inside. The king came in just as the door shut behind Evangeline, masking her from the king's angry eyes.

"Gaius!" he snapped. Merlin swallowed the lump rising in his throat, side stepping in front of his door. Arthur regarded his father carefully, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible.

"Where is Gaius?" he demanded. Arthur and Merlin both shrugged. "Where is the witch's sister?" They shrugged again.

"I assume she ran off, either to help her sister or too frightened to stay around," Merlin suggested. Uther barely acknowledged Merlin and continued to speak with his only son.

"Find Gaius. I will meet with my council. I am sending out search parties to find the witch." With those final words, he swept out of the room. Arthur looked over his shoulder at Merlin.

"I'm going to locate Gaius. You talk with the girl; see if you can learn anything about her sister's plan. Anything to help us," he instructed and walked out briskly. Merlin eased the door behind him open, spotting Evangeline sitting on his bed, rocking back and forth slightly, eyes wide with fright. He approached her slowly, placing a chair across from her.

"Evangeline," he murmured. She looked up to him slowly, eyes brimming with tears.

"Merlin, you have no idea what she's capable of," she whispered ominously.

"What is she going to do?"

"It's going to end," she replied weakly.

"What? Uther's rule?" Merlin persisted. She shook her head violently, strands of brown hair cascading over her cheeks.

"Everything. She's going to destroy everything. All of Albion."

Merlin felt a shiver run down his spin, glancing out the window over Camelot. It seemed as though a storm gathered on the horizon.

**I know it's short, I'm sorry. Haven't had a lot of time to write but this is just set up for some pretty awesome, action-packed chapters to come! Please R&R**


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